Sign of the times
BY AVERY NEWTON INDEPENDENT WRITER

PHOTO BY DAN DRISCOLL The cover of "Quarterboards" shows an ornate quarterboard with hand-carved scallop shells and a shell window treatment.

The next time you walk by a house with a quarterboard - and there are approximately 4,000 on island - you may be getting a peek into the island's maritime past or gaining some insight into the personality of the homeowner.

Island author Sharon Hubbard's book, "Quarterboards: a Unique Art Form," includes several colorful photos of island quarterboards as well as the historic, personal and interesting stories behind them.

Photographer Dan Driscoll is responsible for the 200 images in "Quarterboards."

Hubbard started writing the book as she was deciding on the name for her family's own quarterboard.

"We were deciding on the quarterboard for our own house and I wanted to see if anyone else had it," she said. "So I looked in the library and the historic society and I just became so interested in the history of quarterboards."

After looking into historic quarterboards from 18th century ships, Hubbard began talking to Nantucket residents and asking them about the stories behind their quarterboards.

"I took out an ad in the paper asking if anyone wanted to share their story with me," said Hubbard. "Just about everyone on Nantucket has a quarterboard or wants to put one up."

According to Hubbard, Paul McCarthy from The Nantucket Carving and Folk Art workshop (in the basement of Arrowhead Nursery on Wampanoag Way) has more than a few customers who have been deciding for years on the perfect name to put on their quarterboard.

"Quarterboards average about $1,000 per sign," said Hubbard. "For many people, it had to be just right."

Hubbard's own quarterboard "Blue Crab" is inspired by some near-and-dear and powerful Nantucket memories held by her children.

"It reminds us of when the kids enjoyed going to Long Pond and crabbing with those chicken legs on a string," she said.

With Driscoll's help, Hubbard was able to illustrate the process of a quarterboard's being carved and decorated.

Some of the island's quarterboards date to the 1700s, while others are the result of an inside joke and a few are inspired by family heirlooms.

Many of the quarterboards featured in the book originated from the names of famous shipwrecks around the island.

"Merriwa" is now the name of an island private club, but it was also the name of a sailing vessel shipwrecked on Nantucket shoals.

"All crew members were rescued and they took all of the alcohol with them. They drank all night and in the morning they went into town and raised trouble," said Hubbard of the history of the club's quarterboard.

Forest Prince is the name of another ship wrecked on the shoals in the fog, which inspired the name of a quarterboard.

As the fog cleared, the crew realized that they were, in fact, on shore and out of danger, said Hubbard.

"To my knowledge, there are no restrictions on quarterboards," Hubbard said, referring to potential censorship issues. "The HDC (Historic District Commission) only says that quarterboards cannot display a family name."

This HDC rule leaves the homeowner with ultimate creative control and allows for some great island diversity. I